The present invention pertains to computers and pertains particularly to power saving features for portable computers and for other computing systems.
Portable computers vary widely in size and functionality. What is meant by a portable computer herein is any computing system that is easily transportable by a user and can be run by an included battery or batteries. Notebook computers and laptop computers are examples of portable computers. The wide variation in size and functionality of portable computers allows users very wide choice in selecting a portable computing device that satisfies the particular requirements and/or preferences of the user. For example, many portable computers provide functionality similar to a desktop computing system. These portable computers provide a full size keyboard, full size display, a fully functional operating system, and a large selection of input/output ports. In addition, add-on devices that use internal slots and PC card slots provide a great deal of expandability. Hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, compact disk read only memory (CDROM) drives, rewritable CD drives (CD-RW), digital video disk (DVD) drives and so on give a other storage options for portable computers.
The advanced features of a portable computer, however, come with a price. The price is not only monetary, but also can be in inconvenience to the user, such as the increase in size and weight of many portable computers, the power consumption necessary to support all the functionality and potential functionality of these portable computers and the boot-up time required to load the operating system at start time. Portable computers generally include sleep modes to conserve power while minimizing start-up times.
An alternative to a portable computer is a personal digital assistant (PDA). PDAs have the advantage of a reduced size and weight and reduced power consumption. The trade-off, however, is significantly reduced functionality. A PDA typically has reduced storage capability, a smaller display screen and a limited keyboard. The operating system for a PDA is often less versatile than that for a portable computer.
However, PDAs are often very well adapted for particular purposes. For example, a PDA can provide convenient access to features like a calendar, address book, to-do list, e-mail, expense tracking, memo-pad, dictionary, games, image viewers, maps, and so on. Additionally various attachments can be connected to a PDA to add additional functionality. These include, for example, expanded keyboards, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, modems, scanners, digital cameras, and so on. The simplified operating system of a PDA can be an advantage when it allows a quick (even instantaneous) start-up time for the PDA.
Wireless networks connecting computer devices are gaining increasing acceptability as an efficient means to communicate between computers. Wireless networks allow for interconnection of computing devices without hardware interconnection.
Wireless networks allow consumers to be connected to local devices as well as to provide connection to networks such as the Internet. The wireless access allows access to e-mail, fax and other forms of communication.
It is desirable to receive wireless communications, such as e-mail, fax and other forms of communication, into a portable computer even when the portable computer is in a suspend mode. However, this could present problems if a user is not notified appropriately. The present invention addresses communication with a portable computer while optimizing the ability of a portable computer to utilize its suspend mode.